Ron Howard, director of 'Rush'

To hear you tell it, sounds almost like an emancipation to not have to play by Hollywood or studio rules. "For me, in tackling a project like this you make some sacrifices. You commit a great deal of time, so there has to be a reason for it. For me, the reason as a filmmaker was this was not an opportunity I wanted to let go. I believed it would be thrilling to work on, gratifying and fascinating but had no idea about it commercially. It wasn't an economic decision. [laughs] Artistic ambition overpowers commercial ambition."

To hear you tell it, sounds almost like an emancipation to not have to play by Hollywood or studio rules. "For me, in tackling a project like this you make some sacrifices. You commit a great deal of time, so there has to be a reason for it. For me, the reason as a filmmaker was this was not an opportunity I wanted to let go. I believed it would be thrilling to work on, gratifying and fascinating but had no idea about it commercially. It wasn't an economic decision. [laughs] Artistic ambition overpowers commercial ambition." (Jaap Buitendijk / Universal Studios)

To hear you tell it, sounds almost like an emancipation to not have to play by Hollywood or studio rules. "For me, in tackling a project like this you make some sacrifices. You commit a great deal of time, so there has to be a reason for it. For me, the reason as a filmmaker was this was not an opportunity I wanted to let go. I believed it would be thrilling to work on, gratifying and fascinating but had no idea about it commercially. It wasn't an economic decision. [laughs] Artistic ambition overpowers commercial ambition."Jaap Buitendijk / Universal Studios